ES2392343T3 - Communications network - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of sending data in a communications network, the method comprising the steps of (a) a source terminal (110a) in a local area network (100) comprising a plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e) to run client applications and connect to the Internet generating a request for a content server (240); (b) dividing the request by the originating terminal (110) into a plurality of packages; (c) distributing by part of the originating terminal (110a) the plurality of packets between a first plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) in the local area network (100), each having said first plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c , 110d) a respective wide area connection (120) to the Internet (200), the plurality of packets being distributed over the local area network (100); (d) transmitting on each of said first plurality of terminals ( 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) the packages received during the etap a (c) in said associated wide area connection (120) to a reconstitution server (230) located on the Internet (200); (e) receiving from the reconstitution server (230) the plurality of packets and sending the plurality of packages to the content server (240).

Description

Communications network

The invention relates to communication networks in which a local area network (LAN) is connected to a wide area network (WAN), through a plurality of communication links.

For home users, it is conventional to access the Internet and the Global Computer Network (“Word Wide Web”) using dial-up connections on telephone links. There is an increase in the use of broadband connections, which are provided either by cable television networks or by DSL in the PSTN. However, there are some communities for which it is not possible to provide broadband connections, either because they are too far from a CATV network or a PSTN exchange or because there are not enough numbers to make an economic broadband installation for the operator of net.

Patent application number US 2003/081582 discloses a system in which a packet is fragmented into several packet fragments, transmitted through satellite channels that operate concurrently and recombined on reception by a ground controller.

In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for sending data over a communications network, the method comprising the steps of a source terminal in a local area network comprising a plurality of terminals for executing requests for client and connect to the Internet generating a request for a content server; dividing the originating terminal the request into a plurality of packages; the originating terminal distributing the plurality of packets between a first plurality of terminals in the local area network, each of said first plurality of terminals having a respective wide area connection to the Internet, the plurality of packets being distributed over the network of local area; transmitting each of said first plurality of packet terminals received during step (c) in said wide area connection associated with a reconstitution server located on the Internet; receiving the reconstitution server the plurality of packages and sending the plurality of packages to the content server. Additionally, by sending the content server the content data to the reconstitution server in response to the request received in step (e); the data being sent as a plurality of content data packets; the reconstitution server distributing the plurality of content data packets in the first plurality of terminals in the respective wide area connections; sending the first plurality of terminals the plurality of content data packets to the originating terminal; and receiving the origin terminal, a plurality of content data packets to recreate the content data.

Preferably the plurality of packets is distributed to the first plurality of terminals based on "roundrobin". It is further preferred that the "round-robin" distribution of the plurality of packets is weighted and that the "round-robin" weighting is determined according to the bandwidth of the respective wide area connection between the terminal and the Internet .

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a communication network is provided comprising, a plurality of terminals for executing client applications and connecting to the Internet, the terminals being connected by a local area network and at least some of said plurality. of terminals having a respective wide area connection to the Internet, including the Internet a reconstitution server and a plurality of content servers, where, in use, the originating terminal in the local area network generates a request for one of the servers of content, divides the request into a plurality of packets and distributes the plurality of packets among a plurality of terminals through a local area network, each of said plurality of terminals sends received packets to the reconstitution server through respective connections wide area, and the reconstitution server sends the plurality of packets to the server of content. In addition, the content server sends content data to the reconstitution server in the form of a plurality of content data packets, the reconstitution server distributes the plurality of content data packets among the plurality of terminals in the respective area connection wide, the plurality of terminals lead the plurality of content data packets to the originating terminal; The source terminal receives the plurality of content data packets and recreates the content data.

One or more of said plurality of terminals may have more than one respective wide area connection. The local area network may comprise one or more terminals, in addition to said plurality of terminals, not having a wide area connection.

Each of the active terminals in the local network area may comprise a list that identifies the other active terminals.

Each active terminal may periodically send a first status message to the other terminals in the local area network to indicate that it is active. In addition, an active terminal may send a second status message to the other terminals in the local area network before becoming inactive.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described below by way of illustration only with respect to the accompanying drawings, in which

Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of a communication network according to the present invention; Y

Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of the implementation of Service Providers by Levels (LSP) in a communications network according to the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a schematic illustration of a communication network according to the present invention comprising a LAN 100 and a WAN 200. The LAN 100 comprises a plurality of LAN terminals 110a, 110b, 110c, ... each of which is connected to one or more of the other terminals 110 via LAN connections 115. In addition, the LAN comprises one or more connections 120 that connect a LAN terminal to the WAN 200. The WAN 200 comprises one or more access servers of network (NAS) 210a, 210b, a reconstitution server 230 and a plurality of content servers 240. LAN terminal 110c has a WAN connection 120 to both NAS 210a and 210b, while LAN terminal 110e has no WAN connection 120 and only a LAN 115 connection.

In operation, a LAN terminal 110 may communicate with one of the content servers using a plurality of WAN connections, so that increased bandwidth is provided for communication. Conventionally, the request to access the data resource stored on a content server comprises a certain number of packets and these packets are transmitted to the content server using a WAN connection associated with the terminal.

Using the method according to the present invention, terminal 110a distributes the request packets among the other LAN terminals, such as the LAN terminals transmitting the request packets to the WAN through the WAN connections. The request packets are numbered and subsequently conducted, through the NAS 210 to the reconstitution server 230, where the request packets are sent to the appropriate content server 240.

In response, the content server sends the requested data resource in the form of a plurality of data resource packets to the reconstitution server. The data resource packets are then transmitted to the plurality of LAN terminals, through the respective NAS, using the plurality of WAN connections.

When the data resource packets are received by the LAN terminals, the packets are sent to the LAN terminal that initially requested the data, where the data resource packets can be reassembled in the correct order and the resource can be accessed of data by the terminal. Thus, the present invention makes it possible for the LAN terminal to add a plurality of WAN connections to provide a virtual connection that has an increased bandwidth.

It is preferred that the LAN terminals be connected through the LAN using the Internet Protocol. Any means of transport can be used, including standard Ethernet cables, wireless LAN technology (such as 802.11b / g or Bluetooth), IP on power lines, etc. It is also preferred that each LAN terminal has an active WAN link in addition to a LAN interface (it is possible to have one or more LAN terminals that do not have a WAN connection, although this will have the effect of reducing the efficiency of this invention since the ratio of LAN terminals to WAN connections will be reduced Typically, the WAN link will be a PSTN or ISDN dial-up connection, with global Internet connectivity through any ISP. However, other access technologies such as DSL, cable modems, satellite, etc., can be shared using the method of the present invention. Typically the WAN will be the Internet, although it may be a corporate or academic WAN. The NAS will typically be operating protocols such as SLIP (Shared Line Internet Protocol) and / or PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) to control communications in the plurality of WAN connections.

LAN terminals typically comprise a standard PC that runs popular client applications such as email, W W W browsers, media transmitters, network games, etc. Additional routing software is installed on LAN terminals that ensure outgoing packets are redirected to active LAN terminals. There are several ways to do this, including placing the network card in promiscuous mode, creating a “fault path” or a platform-specific method, such as Level Service Providers (LSP) for Microsoft Windows. In the example set forth below, it will be assumed that the LSP method is used. It will be understood that the invention can also be implemented in PCs that use other operating systems, such as Linux and Macintosh operating systems, or in other devices such as bank boxes, game consoles, etc. They are able to establish network connections.

Figure 2 shows a schematic illustration of the implementation of the LSP, in which the LSP (Level Service Providers) 113 is created as a "false" layer, between the TCP / IP application 112 and the TCP / IP stack 114. If the LSP is implemented, then outgoing packets are trapped: if the packet is destined for a local host, then the packet is allowed to pass unmodified to the TCP / IP stack; while if the packet is destined for a remote network, the packet is sent to one of the LAN terminals. Since the destination address of the packet has changed at this time, the original destination IP address and the port

They need to be attached to the payload of the package. It is possible to determine if this package is taken to a remote or local host using known methods, such as examining the host mask of the LAN card.

In order for the packets to be conducted to the LAN terminals efficiently, it is necessary for each LAN terminal to know which of the other LAN terminals are active. Each active LAN terminal notifies the other terminals and the reconstitution server that they are still active by periodically transmitting an "ACTIVE" message. If a LAN terminal is going to be disconnected, that is, the terminal is going to be turned off, then a “DISCONNECTED” message will be transmitted. In the event that a LAN terminal stops working unexpectedly, for example the power is lost, then the other LAN terminals and the reconstitution server can deduce that a LAN terminal is no longer active due to failure to receive "ACTIVE" messages.

If a LAN terminal fails to transmit an “ACTIVE” message for a predetermined period of time, it will be removed from the table of active LAN terminals, which is used to determine to which terminal packets can be sent. If a LAN terminal has stopped working unexpectedly and other LAN terminals are still sending packets, then there is no way to recover this situation. For applications that generate a request packet it will seem as if there is a network congestion and the packets have been lost. If the application uses a reliable transport such as a TCP then the lost packets will be recovered automatically.

The status messages of the LAN terminals can be sent using unicast messages (typically UDP) to each of the other LAN terminals, however since the LANs are generally a shared medium, a more efficient means of doing this is by sending broadcast or multicast messages. It is preferred for LAN terminals to send status messages to the reconstitution server using UDP or TCP. In a preferred embodiment, a LAN terminal can be deduced that it is active if it is still sending packets and thus there is no requirement that LAN terminals send status messages if they are currently sending packets.

LAN terminal IP address

Port Number Lost Ads Weighing

10.0.1.3

7654 0 one

10.0.1.4

7654 5 one

10.0.1.5

4567 2 3

Table 1

Table 1 shows a list of typical LAN terminal router. As well as the listing of the IP addresses of the active LAN terminals, a port number is also shown. This allows a single LAN terminal to run multiple cases of routing software, for example, a single computer could have 8 telephone lines and modems connected to it. LAN terminals assign a port to which other LAN terminals send packets, and you can possibly assign an additional port for packets that are being received from the reconstitution server.

When a LAN terminal sends requests to other LAN terminals, the request can be sent using a simple round-robin technique. Although this is simple to accomplish, it may not be particularly efficient because different LAN terminals have WAN connections that have significantly different bandwidth capabilities.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, all LAN terminals have an associated weighting value that expresses the ability of a WAN connection to route packets to the WAN. For example, a 28.8 kbps modem could have a weighting of 1, a 56 kbps modem a weighting of 2, an ISDN dial-up a weighting of 4, an ADSL of 500 kbps a weighting of 18, etc. These weights are used to determine the LAN terminals to which packets will be conducted. For example, if a LAN A terminal has a 56 kbps connection, a LAN B terminal has a 28.8 kbps connection and a LAN C terminal has a 56 kbps connection and the reconstitution server wants to send a response from 5 packets, would compensate the responses through the three LAN terminals as follows: A, B, C, A, C.

LAN terminals may have different weights for upstream and downstream transmissions since many access methods do not have symmetric upstream and downstream bandwidth. Weights can be sent either manually by the user (or the network administrator) or they can automatically exit through production control associated with upstream and downstream data transfers.

When a LAN terminal receives a packet from one of the other LAN terminals, it verifies that the packet is valid, for example, the checksums are correct, and if not the packet is discarded. If the packet is valid, the packet header is modified so that the source, the new source IP address and the port are those of the LAN terminal and the new destination address is that of the reconstitution server.

At the start of the LAN terminal, the terminal contacts a reconstitution server to register with the server (some form of terminal identification or authentication may be required). The reconstitution server will inform the LAN terminal on which port it should communicate and the information is stored as an additional field in the active LAN terminal list maintained on the reconstitution server. The LAN terminal will use this port to communicate with the reconstitution server until the reconstitution server notifies of an update.

In addition to modifying the packet header, the LAN terminal needs to attach the IP address of the source LAN terminal to the packet, adding 4 additional bits to the payload. This is in addition to the 6 already added load bits that record the IP address of the content server and the port when the LSP layer sent the packet. The port number of the source LAN terminal does not need to be encapsulated in the payload since the outgoing port of this packet will be set to have the same value.

When the reconstitution server receives an IP packet from a LAN terminal, it verifies that the sender is authorized to use the service. Then it creates a dedicated output port that is associated with the IP address and the source LAN terminal port. Then you know that any response received on that dedicated port is intended for the particular IP address and port.

Dedicated Port

54725

Source IP

10.0.1.1

Source Harbor

5173

LAN ID

fifteen

Last time stamp used

2135325385

Table 2

The reconstitution server maintains a dedicated output port table, and to which main computers map (see Table 2). If an incoming dedicated port is not used for a predetermined period, for example 5 minutes, then the port is made available again for reuse since it is assumed that there is no more incoming traffic. When the port is used, that “last used” time stamp is updated, where the time stamp is stored in a 32-bit UTC time format (UTC represents the number of milliseconds since January 1, 1970 ). When a packet containing an IP address and a port number is received for a source LAN terminal that is not currently represented in the table, a new port entry is created.

The reconstitution server then sends the packet to the IP address and content server port from the dedicated port (specifying its own IP address as the source IP address for the hop), after getting rid of the 10 bits added to the Payload since they are no longer needed. When the content server responds, it will send its response to the dedicated port on the reconstitution server. The reconstitution server determines to which LAN the packets are destined and makes a weighted "round-robin" decision to determine to which of the LAN terminals the packets should be sent. Before the packets are sent the IP address of the content server and the IP address of the port numbers of the original LAN terminal are attached to the packet payload so that the source LAN terminal can recreate the packet header intended. The number of ports of the content server can be deducted by adjusting the number of outgoing ports to it - this is saving overhead costs of 2-bit payload.

When the LAN terminal receives a packet, the IP address of the source LAN terminal and the IP address / port number of the content server are removed and removed. Then recreate the header that the source LAN terminal expects to see, replacing the source / destination IP address and ports. The LSP stack in the LAN terminal will only modify outgoing, non-incoming packets, and thus the packet passes to the unmodified application layer.

This system uses principles similar to IP firewalls and network / port address translation software and as such inherits some of the inherent limitations such as outgoing initiated data transfers are only allowed, and externally initiated data transfers generally are not allowed

without setting exception rules in the software. This avoids, for example, many peers and web servers offered locally from work.

An example of packet routing is given later in Appendices A-D. The UDP client-server application called “AddItUp” is assumed, in which the client sends three packets containing each number. The server responds by returning the negative number back to the client. When the server receives the third number, it adds the three numbers and sends back a fourth packet that contains the sum of the three numbers.

The IP address of the LAN terminal is 10.0.1.1 and uses port 8111 for inbound and outbound traffic for that application. The IP address of the content server is 132.146.15.101 and uses port 7111 for inbound and outbound traffic for that application. The LAN that hosts the LAN terminal has identity 15 and has given port 10015 on the reconstitution server for incoming traffic. The IP address of the reconstitution server is 200.101.55.1. The reconstitution server and the source LAN terminal know that the following LAN terminals are currently active on LAN 15:

IP adress

Port Lost Ads Weighing

10.0.1.3

7654 0 one

10.0.1.4

4567 2 one

Table 3

The present invention will work even if LAN terminals use different ISPs to connect to the Internet. However, if the LAN terminals use the same ISP and the ISP uses a reconstitution server in its network, the amount of central network traffic is reduced as there is less cross-sectional effect of central networks. In addition, the data flow will be more predictable, increasing the quality of some services such as media transmission, since packets conducted through networks of a number of ISPs can take radically different routes over the Internet, and this can be a cause of packet fluctuation.

Extensive research has shown that unique user Internet connections typically leave unused 90 to 95% of the time as users. Therefore it is unlikely that there was much problem of local containment. Additional compliance policies can be easily added to ensure that a single user within the community does not use a disproportionate amount of shared bandwidth.

With shared network connectivity, users may use their phone line for voice calls, etc. while still using the Internet (through collective connections). Normally, a user has to disconnect from the Internet to use their phone line for calls. The same principles can be applied to network technologies without IP such as AppleTalk.

It is envisioned that the invention is suitable for use in communities where it is not possible, for economic or technical reasons, to provide broadband services such as DSL or cable Internet links. By adding a number of PSTN and / or ISDN links it is possible to provide users with a greater bandwidth, which with a sufficient number of users can approximate or exceed what is provided by DSL. The invention can also be used to add broadband connections to provide a connection that has increased bandwidth. LAN terminal groups can be organized in a community that shares a number of WAN connections. It is possible that a single LAN may comprise more than one such LAN terminal community and that a LAN terminal may be a concurrent number of more than one LAN terminal community.

The invention can also be implemented within offices and campuses, etc., since telephone lines can be used for data services when they are not being used for voice services. The use of telephone lines can replace or complement a dedicated Internet connection. The ISDN would be ideal for such an application since it has a rapid establishment / disassembly process.

APPENDIX A Package 1

AddItUp client

Source: 10.0.1.1 port 8111

Send "44".

Destination: 132.146.15.101

port 7111

Payload: 44

LSP intercepts. Send to the first LAN terminal in the active list

Source: 10.0.1.1 port 8111

Destination: 10.0.1.3 port 7654

Payload: 44

(132.146.15.101.7111)

The LAN terminal sends to the Reconstitution server

Source: 10.0.1.3 port 8111

Destination: 200.101.55.1 to port 10015

Payload: 44

(132.146.15.101.7111.10.0.1.1)

Reconstitution Server assigns dedicated port 20001 for the

Source: 200.101.55.1 port 20001

source 10.0.1.1/8111

Destination: 132.146.15.101

Port 7111

Payload: 44

AddItUp server returns the negative number

Source: 132.146.15.101 port 7111

Destination: 200.101.55.1 port 20001

Payload: -44

The reconstitution server searches for the dedicated port entry and sends

Source: 200.101.55.1 port 8111

the package to the next terminal of

Destination: 10.0.1.4 port 4567

Round-robin LAN or LAN 15

Payload: -44

(what happens to be 10.0.1.4)

(132.146.15.101, 7111.10.0.1.1)

The LAN terminal receives the packet, rebuilds the header and sends

Source: 132.146.15.101 port 7111

to the source LAN terminal

Destination: 10.0.1.1 port 8111

Payload: -44

APPENDIX B Package 2

AddItUp client

Source: 10.0.1.1 port 8111

Send "5".

Destination: 132.146.15.101

port 7111

Payload: 5

LSP intercepts. Send to the second LAN terminal in the active list

Source: 10.0.1.1 port 8111

Destination: 10.0.1.4 port 4567

Payload: 5

(132.146.15.101.7111)

LAN terminal sends to the Reconstitution server

Source: 10.0.1.4 port 8111

Destination: 200.101.55.1 port 10015

Payload: 5

(132.146.15.101, 7111, 10.0.1.1)

Reconstitution server has already assigned the dedicated port 20001

Source: 200.101.55.1 port 20001

for Source 10.0.1.1/8111

Destination: 132.146.15.101

port 7111

Payload: 5

AddItUp server returns the negative number

Source: 132.146.15.101 port 7111

Destination: 200.101.55.1 port 20001

Payload: -5

The reconstitution server searches for the dedicated port entry and sends

Source: 200.101.55.1 port 8111

a package to the next terminal of

Destination: 10.0.1.3 port 7654

LAN "round-robin" on LAN 15 (happens to be 10.0.1.3)

Payload: -5

(132.146.15.101, 7111, 10.0.1.1)

The LAN terminal receives the packet, rebuilds the header and sends

Source: 132.146.15.101 port 7111

the source LAN terminal,

Destination: 10.0.1.1 port 8111

Payload: -5

APPENDIX C Package 3

AddItUp client

Source: 10.0.1.1 port 8111

Send "18".

Destination: 132.146.15.101

port 7111

Payload: 18

LSP intercepts. Send to the next LAN terminal in the active list

Source: 10.0.1.1 port 8111

Destination: 10.0.1.3 port 7654

Payload: 18 (132.146.15.101, 7111)

LAN terminal sends to reconstitution server

Source: 10.0.1.3 port 8111

Destination: 200.101.55.1 port 10015

Payload: 18

(132.146.15.101, 7111, 10.0.1.1)

The reconstitution server has already assigned dedicated port 20001

Source: 200.101.55.1 port 20001

for source 10.0.1.1/8111

Destination: 132.146.15.101 port 7111

Payload: 18

AddItUp server returns the negative number

Source: 132.146.15.101 port 7111

Destination: 200.101.55.1

port 20001

Payload: -18

The reconstitution server searches for the dedicated port entry and sends

Source: 200.101.55.1 port 8111

the package to the next terminal of

Destination: 10.0.1.4 port 4567

LAN "round-robin" on LAN 15 (happens to be 10.0.1.4)

Payload: -18

(132.146.15.101.7111.10.0.1.1)

The LAN terminal receives the packet, rebuilds the header and sends

Source: 132.146.15.101 port 7111

to the source LAN terminal

Destination: 10.0.1.1 port 8111

Payload: -18

APPENDIX D Package 4 (Simulation Package)

AddItUp server adds the 3 numbers (to 67)

Source: 132.146.15.101 port 7111 Destination: 200.101.55.1 port 20001 Payload: 67

The reconstitution server searches for the dedicated port entry and sends the packet to the next round-robin LAN terminal on LAN 15 (it happens to be 10.0.1.3)

Source: 200.101.55.1 port 8111 Destination: 10.0.1.3 port 7654 Payload: 67 (132.146.15.101.7111.10.0.1.1)

The LAN terminal receives the packet, rebuilds the header and sends to the source LAN terminal

Source: 132.146.15.101 port 7111 Destination: 10.0.1.1 port 8111 Payload: 67

Claims (10)

1. A method of sending data in a communications network, the method comprising the steps of

(to)

 a source terminal (110a) in a local area network (100) comprising a plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e) for executing client applications and connecting to the Internet generating a request for a content server (240);

(b)

 dividing by the originating terminal (110) the request into a plurality of packets;

(C)

 distributing by the originating terminal (110a) the plurality of packets between a first plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) in the local area network (100), each of said first plurality of terminals (110a) , 110b, 110c, 110d) a respective wide area connection (120) to the Internet (200), the plurality of packets being distributed over the local area network (100);

(d)

 transmitting on each of said first plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) the packets received during step (c) in said associated wide area connection (120) to a reconstitution server (230) located at Internet (200);

(and)

 receiving from the reconstitution server (230) the plurality of packets and sending the plurality of packets to the content server (240).

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

(F)

 sending content content (240) content data to the reconstitution server (230) in response to the request received in step (e), the data being sent as a plurality of content data packets;

(g)

 distribute by the reconstitution server (230) the plurality of content data packets to the first plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) on the respective wide area connections (120),

(h)

sending by the first plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) the plurality of content data packets to the originating terminal (110a); and

(i)

 receiving from the originating terminal (110a) the plurality of content data packets to re-create the content data.

3.

 A method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein in step (c) and / or step (g), the plurality of packets is distributed to the first plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d ) on roundrobin basis.

Four.

 A method according to claim 3, wherein the "round-robin" distribution of the plurality of packages is weighted.

5.

 A method according to claim 4, wherein the round-robin weighting is determined according to the bandwidth of the respective wide area connection (120) between the terminal (110) and the Internet (200).

6.

 A communications network comprising;

a plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d, 110e) for executing client applications and connecting to the Internet (200), the terminals being connected to a local area network (100) and having at least some of said terminals ( 110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) a respective wide area connection (120) to the Internet (200), including Internet (200) a reconstitution server (230) and a plurality of content servers (240), where in use, a source terminal (100a) in the local area network (100) adapted to generate a request for one of the content servers (240), to divide the request into a plurality of packets and to distribute the plurality of packets among a plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) through the local area network (100), each of said plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) adapted to send received packets to the reconstitution server (230) through wide area connections (120), and the reconstitution server (230) adapted to send the plurality of packages the content server (240). 7. A communications network according to claim 6, wherein, in use, the content server (240) sends content data to the reconstitution server (230) in the form of a plurality of content data packets, the reconstitution server (230) distributes the plurality of content data packets between the plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) in the respective wide area connections (120), 5 the plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) route the plurality of content data packets to the originating terminal (110a); the source terminal (110a) receives the plurality of content data packets and recreates the content data. 8. A communications network according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein one (110c) or more 10 of said plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) has more than one respective wide connection area (120). 9. A communications network according to claim 6 or claim 7, wherein the local area network (100) comprises one or more terminals (110e), relative to said plurality of terminals (110a, 110b, 110c, 110d) not having a wide area connection. A communication network according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein each of the active terminals in the local area network comprises a list that identifies the other active terminals. 11. A communications network according to claim 10, wherein in use each active terminal periodically sends a first status message to the other terminals in the local area network to indicate that it is active. A communication network according to claim 10 or claim 11, wherein an active terminal sends a second status message to the other terminals of the local area network before becoming inactive. Figure 1 Figure 2